Ivar Widner (born Pettersson; 29 December 1891 – 26 August 1973) was a Swedish composer, mainly of

military music A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. Widner was born in

Kolsva Kolsva () is a locality situated in Köping Municipality, Västmanland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway ...

Västmanland County Västmanland County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Södermanland County, Södermanland, Örebro County, Örebro, Gävleborg County, Gävleborg, Dalarna County, Dalarna and Uppsala Coun ...

. He entered the Västmanland Regiment in 1905 as a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

, and would stay in the regiment until 1916. While still employed by the regiment, he studied music at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

1909–1915. In 1916 he was transferred to the

Norrbotten Regiment The Norrbotten Regiment (), designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and commando regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Norrb ...

and took up position as its musical director. He stayed there until 1923, when he was transferred to the

Hälsinge Regiment The Hälsinge Regiment (), designations I 14, I 14/Fo 49 and I 14/Fo 21, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the p ...

and took up the position of musical director of his new regiment. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1931. In 1932 he moved to Stockholm and served as head of the naval band of the Stockholm station (later merged with the naval band of

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

station to form the Royal Swedish Navy Band). He retired in 1947. Aside from his professional career, he was also engaged in volunteer orchestras and choral societies. He composed around 135 works, including about 30 military marches. He was a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widner, Ivar 1891 births 1973 deaths Swedish classical composers Military music composers People from Köping Municipality